I've always noticed a few pop-up's here and there but within the past couple days I get at least one for every page I open. My computer is going so slow that it took me about 20 minutes just to get here to post this! I tried to clean the temp files on my computer but it gets stuck on "calculating: scanning: compress old files" I've left it for an hour and the bar doesn't move. I have also run spybot search and destroy and AVG anti-spyware. They don't seem to have helped at all. Please tell me what I should do! Thanks

Kat

Welcome to BC katisaloser

What OS (Win XP/2000, etc) are you using? Have you tried doing your scans in "SAFE MODE"?

Also download and scan with SUPERAntiSypware Free for Home Users

• Double-click SUPERAntiSypware.exe and use the default settings for installation.
• An icon will be created on your desktop. Double-click that icon to launch the program.
• If asked to update the program definitions, click "Yes". If not, update the definitions before scanning by selecting "Check for Updates". (If you encounter any problems while downloading the updates, manually download and unzip them from here.)
• When done, select "Scan for Harmful Software".
• There are three scanning options. Choose "Perform Complete Scan" and click "Next".
• When done, a Scan Summary will appear with potentially harmful items that were detected. Click "OK".
• Make sure they all have a checkmark next to them and click "Next".
• A notification will appear that "Quarantine and Removal is Complete". Click "OK" and then click the "Finish" button to return to the main menu.
• Select close to exit the program.

Compressing old files can take a long time. Next time look at the light on your computer to see that the harddrive is working. As long as it is working, give it time to complete.
Check your Add/Remove programs to see if there are any you don't recognize. Don't delete any if you are not sure. Google or ask here about the questionable programs.

The only thing I don't recognize is something running called "wuauclt.exe" is this bad? If so, how do I get rid of it?

You have this in add/remove? Can you give the location and/or path
As some form of this is a trojan and another is part of windows update.

Have you run the Super Antispyware program in safe mode? What did it find?
Another possibility for the popups would be the "Messenger Service". To check to make sure it is turned off, follow the directions in the link below for YOUR Windows OS.
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/desktop/docs/messagepopup/

OK, here's a little update, i've run at least 3 different anti-spyware programs including Spybot, the super one reccomended above and AVG. They found stuff and I had them removed/fixed. I have windows XP. I am still getting popups and my computer is still running really slow. I still wasn't able to do a clean up because it gets stuck on "compress old files" I left it there for at least 2 hours and the bar didn't move. I found that wuauclt.exe not on the add/remove programs, but on the task manager, it was running. Any other suggestions?

wuauclt.exe is the service which checks for windows updates. Did you do the scans in SAFE Mode?

Yes I did and the results were no different. I'm ready to just reformat my C drive at this point, but i have so many important personal files that i don't want to lose.

As a last resort try this :

In normal mode, run an online antivirus check from at least two and preferably three of the following sites
BitDefender
Computer Associates Online Virus Scan
Panda's ActiveScan
Trend Micro Housecall
Windows Live Safety Center Free Online Scan
This scanner from Trend does not require an Active X to run.

1. Detects and removes malware ( viruses, worms, trojans, etc. )
2. Detects and removes grayware and spyware
3. Restores damage caused by malware to your system.
4. Notifies about vulnerabilities in installed programs and connected network services.
5. Multi-platform support for: Windows, Linux, Solaris.
6. Easy-to-use with the Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

I would suggest to run the Windows Live safety centre test and Bitdefender test to see what is going on. Formatting is absolutely the last step because it is such a PITA

I suggest you post a Hijack This Log in the appropriate forum by following the directions in the link below.
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic34773.html